Wendy McAllister

Wendy McAllister’s Albedo brooch presents a striking balance between containment and release. Its jagged silver border surrounds twin oval forms coated in a crust of bright white enamel. This textured surface recalls salt deposits or frost and is punctuated by sharp openings that reveal a golden interior. The contrast between the coarse, matte enamel and the gleaming gold beneath creates a sense of layered depth, as if something precious is breaking through a rough outer shell.

Formally, the piece evokes tension between preservation and transformation. The enamel’s granular buildup suggests natural accumulation, while the exposed gold points to emergence and inner vitality. These visual oppositions symbolize the coexistence of strength and vulnerability. McAllister’s use of materials and texture mirrors processes found in the natural world, where surface and substance shift over time, and beauty often lies just beneath what first appears worn or hardened.